Get ready to walk or ride Muni to Coit Tower

It’s nearly summer in San Francisco. And in addition to the sure arrival of fog and tourists, it also means that weekend parking restrictions at Coit Tower will probably return.

On Tuesday, the Municipal Transportation Agency board will consider closing off the Coit Tower parking lot to tourists and anyone who doesn’t live on Telegraph Hill or at least hold an “A” residential parking permit. The city tested the residents-only parking policy on weekends last summer and considered it a success. So, they’re considering a repeat.

The Chronicle

Time to walk or take transit to Coit Tower.

Coit Tower parking has long been a problem. The small circular lot at the top of the hill has just 29 spaces, which are constantly filled at peak tourist times, especially during the summer and on weekends. The backup waiting to get into the lot slows the 39-Coit bus, which hauls visitors to the landmark, interfering with its reliability. At the same time, neighbors want access to long-term parking.

So the agency tried the plan last summer and found traffic on weekends was cut in half, and the 39-Coit saw between a 33 percent to 78 percent ridership increase, depending on the day and time. Neighbors, not surprisingly, liked the experiment, but you can bet the people who got $73 parking tickets did not.

Accurate information about the number of weekend visitors to Coit Tower was not available, however, so it’s not clear how many tourists may have decided to head straight for Pier 39 instead of trekking up Telegraph Hill or taking a Muni ride.